Shooting Industry October 2013 - Page 54

STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAT COVERT KNIFE MARKET REMAINS HOT WITH AGGRESSIVE DESIGNS nives are a hot ticket in the marketplace, with this segment of the industry reflecting a lot of excitement and profit potential. This was the general perception at the 2013 Blade Show held in Atlanta, Ga., May 31-June 2. Cutlery manufacturers typically launch a slew of new products at this event and this year’s crop of factory knives showed a broad range of new designs — something for every budget. The folding knife continues to be the major focus of the cutlery market — primarily in the “tactical” genre. 5.11 Tactical Gear is now several years into their knife program and it continues to boom. The small LDE (Last Ditch Effort) Tanto Folder caught our eye. This little bulldog is one of an expanding group of folders based on the same FRN (injection-molded) handle platform and is very economical. Visit www.511tactical.com. Hallmark Cutlery continues to be one of the value leaders in the tactical arena. The Dreadnaught, with its aggressive rhinolike blade and stout G10 handle, is a large-size folder at a very affordable price point. The entire Bad Blood line is similarly priced and will appeal to both the youth market and seasoned tactical user. Visit www.hallmarkcutlery.com. A sleek, new design introduced at the show was the Ken Onion-designed CRKT Swindle gent’s folder. This midsize folder exudes class, from its strong lines to the unique hinged pocket clip on its base. The Swindle’s blade swings out via a flipper (located on the backside of the handle) and an IKBS ball bearing pivot. Visit www.crkt.com. W. R. Case & Sons has teamed up with Carhartt to release a line of hard-duty folders in a variety of traditional patterns. Handle options in the Carhartt series include molasses bone, synthetic stag, and earth brown G10 composite. Visit www. wrcase.com. Retired police officer and trainer Brian Hoffner’s American Tactical Apparel has developed a group of knives able to be rapidly acW.R. Case & Sons’ Wes Hardin cessed and indexed holds the new Carhartt by Case as part of a traincatalog along with the earth ing system that can be easbrown G10 BackPocket knife. 54 OCTOBER 2013 K Abundance Of Folders ily taught to law enforcement and civilian users. There are two “live” folders in the lineup (a plain edge and partially serrated version) and a training knife for instruction. Visit www.americantacticalapparel.com. A.G. Russell, an advocate of carrying small knives, designed the Skorpions to suit his needs — two trim, lightweight folders built strong enough to do some beefy cutting. Available in two blade sizes (3 and 3.45 inches) these “featherlite” folders feature sturdy frame-locks on lightened handle rails. Visit www.agrussell.com. Kershaw’s popular Cryo is getting a big brother. The Cryo II is 20-percent larger but retains the overall look and feel of the original. The Cryo II features a matte-gray titanium carbo-nitride coated stainless steel frame, drop-point blade, flipper activated SpeedSafe opening mechanism and frame-lock with lockbar stabilizer. Visit www.kershawknives.com. Cold Steel’s new Indo/Persian-inspired Talwar folder has more curves than a Himalayan switchback. The knife’s upswept blade complements a wicked handle with G10 scales. Cold Steel offers the Talwar in two blade lengths — a small 4-inch model and larger 5.5-inch one. Visit www.coldsteel.com. Benchmade has jumped aboard the flipper train. The company’s new midsize 300 AXIS Flipper folder features “treaded” brown and tan G10 handle scales and a drop-point blade — which is engaged by an easy-access flipper or ambidextrous thumb studs. This folder locks up with Benchmade’s sturdy AXIS lock. Visit www. benchmade.com. (Above) Southern Grind’s Bad Monkey is attracting a growing following. (Below) The Hogue EX-04 (Left) and the CRKT Swindle (Right) are two of many diverse tactical folders on the market. Subscribe to SI DIGITAL www.shootingindustry.com www.shootingindustry.com